What a difference a decade makes!
London's Heathrow Airport 23rd February 2002.
Seen from aboard BA Boeing767 G-BWVN 'BA229' LHR while on my way to Washington's Dulles Airport.
In the shot several things are significant:
The BA Boeing 757 G-CPET taxying out to depart 28R - all the 757 fleet are now sold.
The old ATC Control Tower (where I used to work) is now demolished and replaced with a new ultra-modern, taller structure located to the south west of this position.
That white ball atop 'Aerodrome control' was the ASMI (Airfield Surface Movement Indicator). A High-resolution radar, so powerful that it would show anything moving on the airfield and from the display you could see the exact shape of any aeroplane - especially useful to the ground controller in the dark and fog! In fact the returns would even penetrate the entrance to the vehicle tunnel which runs under the Northern Runway, showing the traffic moving through it!
While not visible here - Concorde was still flying daily to and from New York.
Lastly and most importantly - the 'public' viewing platforms are all now gone! I think this one was on the old 'Queens Building' - or on Terminal 2 - all gone and now redeveloped.
"Good Heavens - you can't have people looking at aeroplanes or waving off their relatives - that would be a securiy risk!"......wouldn't it?
What a difference a decade makes!
London's Heathrow Airport 23rd February 2002.
Seen from aboard BA Boeing767 G-BWVN 'BA229' LHR while on my way to Washington's Dulles Airport.
In the shot several things are significant:
The BA Boeing 757 G-CPET taxying out to depart 28R - all the 757 fleet are now sold.
The old ATC Control Tower (where I used to work) is now demolished and replaced with a new ultra-modern, taller structure located to the south west of this position.
That white ball atop 'Aerodrome control' was the ASMI (Airfield Surface Movement Indicator). A High-resolution radar, so powerful that it would show anything moving on the airfield and from the display you could see the exact shape of any aeroplane - especially useful to the ground controller in the dark and fog! In fact the returns would even penetrate the entrance to the vehicle tunnel which runs under the Northern Runway, showing the traffic moving through it!
While not visible here - Concorde was still flying daily to and from New York.
Lastly and most importantly - the 'public' viewing platforms are all now gone! I think this one was on the old 'Queens Building' - or on Terminal 2 - all gone and now redeveloped.
"Good Heavens - you can't have people looking at aeroplanes or waving off their relatives - that would be a securiy risk!"......wouldn't it?